Rep. Johnson’s statement on Microsoft’s bid to buy LinkedIn for $26B

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL), issued the following statement concerning Microsoft's announcement that it will buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, a deal that could bring significant changes for the professional network’s more than 430 million members:

“Microsoft's proposed acquisition of LinkedIn is one of the largest acquisitions of a technology company in history,” Johnson stated.

“As the antitrust agencies have clarified, big data is an asset like any other. We must ensure that control over this data does not foreclose new competitors from entering the market or impair existing competition. Additionally, although big data has many positive uses, it may also be used as a tool for exclusion and discrimination, as the Federal Trade Commission noted in an exhaustive report earlier this year. The FTC has also explicitly recognized that privacy can be a dimension of competition.

“I plan to monitor this transaction closely, and will continue my efforts to move H.R. 4516, the Data Broker Accountability and Transparency (Data) Act of 2016, legislation that would provide consumers with transparency and control over their personal data, along with the tools to correct the record and minimize collection.”

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